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In the first practice session in Russia, Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg topped the timesheets ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel in a disrupted session at the Sochi circuit due to a diesel spillage that affected the start of FP1.
A track vehicle leaked diesel through several corners in sector two, resulting in a hasty clean-up operation that left several corners doused in water. With the other two sectors dry, drivers had to tip toe through the wet section while going flat out for the rest of the lap.
The first few tentative exploration laps were performed on intermediate tyres by the drivers; with Sebastian Vettel summing up the situation by simply saying “What a mess” on his team radio. McLaren-Honda driver Fernando Alonso was the first to complete a series of laps on slicks, albeit with minimal traction in the middle sector as he negotiated the wet corners.
It would be easier to list the drivers who did not spin than those that did during the session; but it is worth mentioning that Lewis Hamilton’s final attempt was baulked by a spinning Felipe Massa and then ruined completely three corners later when Hamilton had a spin of his own.
But it was Nico Hulkenberg who topped the timesheets with lap time of 1.44.355 ahead of Nico Rosberg in second place who was 0.052 seconds behind him but was ahead of Sebastian Vettel who finished in third place who was 0.631 seconds behind the Force India of Hulkenberg.
Sergio Perez finished the session in fourth place ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in fifth place, Carlos Sainz Jr in sixth place and Lewis Hamilton in seventh place. Valtteri Bottas ended the session in eighth place ahead of Max Verstappen in ninth place and Kimi Raikkonen who rounds off the top ten finishers.
Jenson Button ended the session in eleventh place ahead of Felipe Massa in twelfth place, Felipe Nasr in thirteenth place, Fernando Alonso in fourteenth place and Pastor Maldonado in fifteenth place. As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Daniil Kvyat finished in sixteenth place ahead of Jolyon Palmer** in seventeenth place, Roberto Merhi in eighteenth place, Marcus Ericsson in nineteenth place and Will Stevens who rounded off the grid in twentieth place.
The classification of FP1 for the Russian GP is as follows:-
1. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, 1.44.355
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 0.052s
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 0.631s
4. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 0.791s
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault, 0.878s
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1.133s
7. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1.336s
8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, 1.391s
9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1.848s
10. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1.860s
11. Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 1.876s
12. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 1.978s
13. Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 2.392s
14. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 3.088s
15. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Mercedes, 3.651s
16. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull Renault, 3.741s
17. Jolyon Palmer, Lotus-Mercedes, 4.739s
18. Roberto Merhi, Manor, 8.639s
19. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 9.917s
20. Will Stevens, Manor, 13.899s
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laa
